1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to packages for bakery foods and, more specifically, it relates to an improved package of this type which may readily be locked and unlocked without destruction of the packaging components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The need to provide an efficient, secure and sanitary package for baked goods such as cakes, pies and the like has long been recognized. The need is particularly acute with respect to packages which are to contain the bakery foods on retail merchants' shelves. Among the specific needs are the need to preserve the integrity of the package so that consumers may not improperly gain access to the food products, the need to provide visibility for the product in order to give the consumer a better idea as to the nature and quality of the goods and the further objective, particularly in respect of cakes, to permit opening, and easy and secure relocking, of the container by authorized personnel such as when it becomes desirable to custom decorate the cake for a particular purchaser.
Numerous prior packages consisting of a base portion and a cover have been known for use in connection with bakery products, It has been known, for example, to provide a plastic dome cooperating with a plastic base in a snap fit relationship. One of the difficulties in connection with such packaging has been the problem of determining visually whether the package is in fact in a locked condition. Often bakery personnel have secured the cover to the base by securing a wrap of clear plastic film thereover to augment the cover-base lock. Also, frequently it has been difficult to unlock such packages without risk of damaging or dropping the contents. Damage often occurs when the cover is removed at an angle, rather than vertically from the base.
It has also been known to employ separate locking means to secure a cover to a base in connection with bakery packaging. For example, it has been known to employ adhesive for such purposes. One of the problems with adhesive is the lack of certainty that a firm joint has been established. Also adhesive joints may be adversely affected by refrigeration or freezing. Misplaced reliance on the integrity of the joint can result in dropping of the contents rendering them contaminated. It has also been know to employ clip members to secure a cover to a base. These require handling of separate elements and have not always provided the desired intimacy of securement.
It has also been known to employ tape to secure the cover to the base. Such tape is not suited, however, for effective reclosure and is generally considered to be unattractive.
U.S. Pat. 2,833,405; 3,351,188 and Canadian Pat. No. 662,471 all disclose packages which, while not bakery packages per se, incorporate projecting tab members which are received in thin, slit openings for locking portions of the packages together.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,902 discloses a cake package wherein a transparent ribbed cover member is secured to a base by means of staples. One of the problems with this type of package is the need to employ separate securing means, the need to use an implement to open the package and the hazard that one or more staples may inadvertently be mingled with or enter into the food product, thereby creating a hazard for the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,110 recites a carton with hinge latch closure. That carton includes a locking tab, rotatable on two axes, which is formed at the top edge of a bow-shaped bottom member. The locking tab cooperates with a locking well formed in the carton's lid and the lid, bottom member and locking tab all form one integral unit. As the item enclosed within the package is clamped between the interior surfaces of the lid and bottom, such a package would be undesirable for bakery food storage as contact between the package and bakery product would tend to damage delicate and artistic icing and the like. Additionally, the carton incorporates a hinge which connects the lid and bottom member, thereby necessitating angular, and not vertical, opening of the lid from the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,795,360 discloses a cover for a basket-type container for holding agricultural products which includes a top and depending flexible sidewalls. The cover and basket include cooperative locking means which are engaged and disengaged by flexing the cover sidewalls. That arrangement is undesirable with respect to bakery products as flexing of the covers sidewalls risks contact between the enclosed product and the sidewalls which may result in damage to decorative icing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,326 discloses a product display carton. In one embodiment, the base of that carton incorporates fold-up edges which define a product receiving portion and which form openings for the receipt of tongues which depend from the carton's cover. A second embodiment of that patent discloses a base with fold-up lobes which rotate one a single axis. In the first embodiment, the fold-up edges limit the visibility of the product within the carton.
There remains, therefore, a very real and substantial need for an improved bakery foods package which will eliminate or minimize the above-described problems.